by Rita Foust
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To our earliest ancestors, who could only guess at the
"meaning" of natural events, winter solstice was the time
when the sun came back to earth. Light
and warmth were restored, and another fertile season could begin.
Life could go on. The cycle
would repeat, after all.
There are more celebrations and festivals between the end of November
and early January than any other time of year. Many of these
celebrations have overlapped and
been combined, and lost their origins of nationality and purpose.
Best known to Americans are
Thanksgiving (the harvest festival), Christmas and New Year's.
These are all vestiges of earlier,
simpler holy days.
This important winter celebration has been adapted and
adopted by many people in all
parts of the world. It has been incorporated into the major
religions. It has been purified, and it
has prospered. Today, in America, as in most of the developed
world, we don't celebrate winter
solstice, that time when the sun is on its lowest point on
the horizon, and seems poised, unable to
return to its position high in the sky of summer and plenty.
Today, we celebrate Christmas. The
birth of the Savior, the King of Light.
There is a tradition of December as the month of the
birth of many solar saviors and dying
gods. They include Osiris, the Syrian Baal, Attis, Adonis,
Helios, Apollo, Dionysus, Mithras,
Jesus, Balder and Frey. In the Roman tradition, 25 December was
Dies Natalis Solis Invictus, the
Day of the Birth of the Undefeated Sun. All of these dieties
were given similar titles: the Light ofthe World, Sun of
Righteousness, and Savior. The festival of Christmas is a
wonderful amalgam
of many religious traditions, ancient and modern, Pagan,
Zoroastrian, Jewish, Mithraic and
Christian. But have you ever stopped to wonder where all
our Christmas customs came from? Their origins are as
wonderful and colorful as presents under the Christmas tree!
The earliest winter solstice celebrations were part of
the year of a largely agricultural
society. If there is the right amount of sunshine (and water)
crops will grow, the animals will eat
and get fat, and there will be grain for the long winter.
As every farmer knows, nothing affects
crop success like the right amount of light. If you're a
backyard gardener who buys your
vegetable seeds in little packets, information listed first
on growing instructions tells you "plant in
full sun. 90 days to maturity." Without 90 days of eight
hours or more of sun, that vegetable will
not mature into nutritious, life-giving food, regardless
of any other existing conditions.
Earliest recorded history recounts celebrations of the
return of light. And so, many
celebrations and festivals, while pagan in their beginnings,
have been adopted over the millennia to
fit the needs of the people and their level of technology.
The Romans celebrated Saturnalia, a
festival to honor Saturn, the god of harvests. He civilized
the Romans and taught them
agriculture.
On his festival, which occurred then around December 17 and
continued for seven
days, work ceased, gifts were exchanged, and war was outlawed.
Beyond that, Saturnalia wasknown for its extravagant decadence.
Slaves were allowed to meet their masters on equal terms,
and festivities were marked by drinking and being drunk, gaming,
singing naked, noise-making,
and all manner of debauchery! The god Saturn represented the
"golden age" of the innocence ofmankind, therefore, there were
no classes, no slaves or masters, no right or wrong.
The Kalends of January also had major influence in the
Latin countries. I quote here,
Libanius, the famous Greek sophist of the fourth century:--
"The festival of the Kalends is celebrated everywhere
as far as the limits of the Roman Empire extend. . . . Everywhere
may be seen carousals and well-laden tables; luxurious abundance
is found in the houses of the rich, but also in the houses of the
poor better food than usual is put on the table. The impulse to
spend seizes everyone. He who the
whole year through has taken pleasure in saving and piling up his
money, becomes suddenly extravagant. . . . People are not only
generous toward themselves, but also toward their fellow
men. A stream of presents pours itself out on all sides. . . ."
Well, I don't know about you, but I recognize something of
the season here!
The Druids, thriving in the harsh northern Atlantic,
rather than the more temperate climate of sunny, Mediterranean
Italy, were a little more basic. The symbols they assembled
to celebrate this most important holy day were also simple.
Evergreens: symbols of life everlasting, and flame:symbol of
light and warmth. Evergreens were used for everything from
door decorations (inviting life everlasting into the home) to
"Christmas" trees, to "Yule" logs. Holly was planted on either
side of the doorway and the prickly leaves guarded the household
from evil spirits. Evergreen trees were brought into the
home and decorated with candles (encouraging the return of
the SunGod) and fruits and grains (celebrating the past
harvest and the hope for a good harvest in the new year).
Yule logs, not only giving out warmth against the
midwinter cold, but possessing magical properties of healing,
prosperity, protection, fertility and good fortune, were
reverently brought into the home and tended to in a most
serious fashion. Usually, there was great significance placed
on keeping the log burning for a certain period of time.
And during that time, should your fire go out, great misfortune
was portended. Not only were you without the warmth and light of
flame, but your neighbors would not help you rekindle your fire,
for it was very bad luck to let the light go out of your house.
Some traditions mandated that the yule log's flame be kept alive for
the entire year, till the lighting of the next log; others
allowed for keeping charcoal or unburnt pieces of the log
for use in the following year's ceremonial lighting.
There are obvious practical applications for these beliefs
within context. Today, they have become charming rituals and
superstitions.
And what about the most popular "superstition" of all --
Santa Claus? Where did he come from? Santa's real name, is,
of course, St. Nicholas. And he is a relative newcomer to the scene,
patterned around the fourth century bishop of Myra in Asia Minor,
who, for some unknown reason, became the patron saint of boys.
It's uncertain whether his wondrous works for the benefit of
young people gave rise to, or are due to his connection with
children. Most likely, he is a product of improved agriculture
and other causes which made early December, rather than
mid-November, the time for final harvest and its attendant
rejoicing. (St. Nicholas Day is December 6.) His origin,
which was well after the establishment of the Christian Church,
is patterned after a real-life saint, and his traditional dress
of red, trimmed with white fur also seems to have been established
very early.
St. Nicholas went largely unnoticed in much of the
world, but he caused quite a stir in Holland and Belgium.
There, on December 6th, when night falls, people dress up
as St. Nicholas and "check their lists," whether the children
have been naughty or nice. Children, in hopes of a reward,
place their wooden shoes (sabots) at the foot of their beds,
and fill them with straw or carrots for Santa's horse or ass
(reindeer hadn't been invented yet). When morning comes, they
find treats in place of the fodder, or, if they've been bad,
they'd find sticks.
Now here's an interesting twist. It seems that Santa
Klaus is known to every English child, but, according to
Clement Miles, author of Christmas Customs and Traditions,
"as an incarnation of Christmas as a saint with a day of
his own. Santa Klaus, probably, has come to us via the
United States, whither the Dutch took him, and where he
still has immense popularity."
And this was supposed to be a story on winter
solstice. Well, it is. A pagan holiday (holyday) has
been incorporated into the calendar of nearly every
major religion in the world. We all celebrate the birth
(or rebirth) of the sun, as it returns to its position in
the southern sky. We celebrate the birth of Christ, the
Son of God, the God of Goodness and Light, at the same time
every year. This year, on December 21, take notice of the sun.
Look how low it is in the sky. This is the shortest day
of the year. But from this day forth, the sun will rise
higher in the sky, bringing us closer to summer. And once
again, we can look forward to a season of warmth, light and
fertility.
Happy Holidays!
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Copyright 1995 Rita FoustAll Rights Reserved